Recent Birding

Another Christmas Bird Count (CBC) has come and gone! Wallaceburg's was held on December 27 under gray skies. Final tally at the end of the day revealed that we had come in at 86 species. That was an excellent total, including one new species for the count history. Hoary Redpoll was added. It was seen in only a flock of about eight redpolls! I think it was no surprise since practically every other count in southern Ontario is recording this northern visitor. As I mentioned before, it is likely to be a record year for this species.

Another new species, Evening Grosbeak (4), was seen two days prior to the count. Therefore, it can be included in count week. For some reason these grosbeaks never stay in one spot. Every one that I have seen or heard of in this area is only seen for one day. I have had singles here on three occasions, and they were only one day wonders. That seems to apply to Purple Finches as well.

Finch types are rare around Wallaceburg. Purple Finches have only been recorded three times on the CBC. Evening Grosbeaks, never. Crossbills, never. (although I have had White-winged in the yard on two occasions). Redpolls are only recorded in irruption years. Pine Siskins have been recorded only six times, including this year. (I usually get them at my feeder, and this year was no exception).

Other good birds on the Wallaceburg count included Cackling Goose (1), Surf Scoter (2), Saw-Whet Owl (2), Common Loon (1), Pileated Woodpecker (only the third time).

Some types of birds were rather scarce. Hardly any gulls were around. As I always say, they like cold weather and ice, and it has just been too mild the last two weeks.

Swans are always increasing in numbers. More and more Mute Swans are seen every winter on the St. Clair River. Tundra Swans now winter regularly on the big river. They never used to.

Our highest species total ever was 89 in 2005, so this year was very good considering the fact that some birds was rather scarce.

The Rondeau/Blenheim CBC managed to scrape up 100 species when all was said and done. We could not win with the weather this year, and that was certainly a significant factor. However, 100 species is an excellent total.

The last CBC in the area is St. Clair on January 1. It relies heavily on waterfowl. With the recent mild weather, there should be some open water to hold ducks and geese and water-related birds.

FAIRMILE SUBCHASERS

Although not a nature subject, another interest of mine is boats. Recently the Duc D’Orleans cruise ship in Sarnia was hauled out of the water for rebuilding. It was originally a fairmile subchaser that was built in the early 1940’s at Sarnia. After WWII, it was rebuilt as a cruise vessel at Quebec City and spent many years there until the late 1970’s. It was then brought to Sarnia, its original home, for cruises there.
The fairmiles were fast escort vessels built for war service. Various ship-building firms across Canada were contracted to build these 112’ boats at a cost of about $80,000.00 apiece. A total of 80 were built, with most in Ontario, a few in Nova Scotia, and some in British Columbia. They were given specific numbers under the letter Q.
Mac-Craft in Sarnia was contracted to construct eight of these which were Q62, Q63, Q101, Q102, Q103, Q104, Q105, Q115. The Duc-D’Orleans was Q105. Q102 is still known to exist as a luxury cruise yacht on the southern east coast of the United States. Others may still exist, as there are still many around the world still floating.
They were well-built vessels of mahogany and oak, with the bottoms sheathed with “muntz” metal, a combination of copper and zinc. They had twin gasoline engines. The earlier boats had 635 hp motors (giving them a speed up to 20 knots), and the later ones were given 850 hp motors (up to 24 knots). Some were fitted with other motors as well.
Each carried a crew of about 15 men. Ironically, the original captain of Q105 is still living at the age of 88 in British Columbia.
Mac-Craft Inc. has a special place in my heart as it started in Wallaceburg in the late 1930’s building mahogany speedboats. They were top-of-line boats for their time. My father and I restored hull #2 and enjoyed it for many years. Unfortunately it was destroyed by fire when the boathouse went up in flames in March 1992.
Mac-Craft moved to Sarnia in 1941 when they got the contract to build fairmiles. It was a larger facility to do the construction.
Their first one was Q62, as seen in the photograph. The second photo shows Q63 beside it under construction as well.
Q105 (Duc D’Orleans) is shown in the news photo (at top) as it originally appeared complete with guns and depth charges.
Another photo shows the Duc in Wallaceburg on its first cruise there in July 1979. I was on this cruise, and if you look closely, I am leaning on the rail beside the pilot house!
The fairmiles apparently never saw any active service, and none were lost during the war. They were very well-built vessels and many of them survive to this day, mostly as private yachts or cruise ships. Click here for a website that shows some of the vessels that still exist today.

The plans for Q105 are to restore it to its original appearance. The last photo shows how it looks today (taken Dec. 22) at Point Edward. Obviously it will have to be rebuilt from the deck up, and will take huge amounts of money. I think they are relying heavily on volunteers and donations.
Hopefully the restoration will become a reality.

More CBC's

I participated in another two Christmas Bird Counts this weekend. Port Huron was on Saturday, and Rondeau/Blenheim on Sunday.

The Port Huron CBC extends into Canada including Sarnia and down to Mooretown on the St. Clair River. I had never done that count before because it always conflicted with another count in the area in the past. It is close to home, and I know the Sarnia area, so it was nice to do. I was given the southern portion on the Canadian side.

The weather was quite pleasant, and the birds co-operated. I came up with 38 species in four hours, so that was rather respectable. The best species was Peregrine Falcon. Ducks included, Mallard, Gadwall (3), Canvasback, Redhead, Greater and Lesser Scaup, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Long-tailed Duck, and all three mergansers. That seems pretty standard for the river in winter. Even the Gadwall (the best duck species) is not too unusual for the river as there always are a few on the St. Clair in winter.

A large flock of Redpolls (~175) was nice near the end of my count. No Hoary though!



Sunday at Rondeau was a different story. The count was supposed to be last week, but due to the snowstorm, it had to be postponed. The weather was absolutely horrible again this time! It rained all morning with very strong winds. At noon the winds picked up even more, probably gusting up to 80 km/h at times. At least the sun came out for a while around noon.



However, birds remained scarce, and one certainly could not hear anything!

As a result, numbers of birds were rather low. Many things were missed that were probably there. Preliminary species total was at 94, but there were still some reports to come in. We should have broken 100 species, but if the weather had co-operated, we may have done that.

There was a huge number of Bonaparte's Gulls. They were going by all day long, and by sunset they had collected at Erieau numbering about 10,000.

A new species for the count history was spotted by Alan Wormington Mark Jennings. An Eared Grebe was in the channel at Erieau!

I worked south point trail and south beach in the park. It was miserable at times in the wind and rain. Strangely, at the count wrap-up, I found out I had the only Hairy Woodpecker for the count! That tells you something about the day! (Perhaps another will be added when all the reports are in.)

The photos show the south beach around noon when the sun was out.


News just in on Christmas Day, that species total for the Rondeau/Blenheim CBC was 100!!

Kettle Point CBC Results

Below is quick summary of the Kettle Point CBC, courtesy of Alf Rider, compiler. It seems most counts are getting Hoary Redpolls, and this one was no exception. It could be a record year for Hoary Redpolls in southern Ontario. There are two types of Hoary, which I may discuss later. As well, there is a larger subspecies of Common Redpoll which was also listed on this count.

We managed to find 69 species for the day, missing both PINE and EVENING GROSBEAKS and also BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS, all of which are around the area still.Highlights were-- RED-THROATED LOON, 2 TUNDRA SWANS, 5 GADWALL, 6 BALD EAGLES, 1 GOLDEN EAGLE, and a MERLIN.16 WILD TURKEYS seem low, but no RUFFED GROUSE or their trails were found. Maybe the local GOSHAWKS are having an effect on them? The OWLS were represented by E. SCREECH OWL, Gt. HORNED, SHORT-EARED, LONG-EARED, and SAW-WHETS.RING-BILLED GULLS have started to over-winter in this area since the first count in 1968 and 20 is a good number for the current ice conditions up in Lake Huron.The 3 KINGFISHERS were good birds. We had Count week PILEATED, but did well and had a single N. FLICKER and 2 RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS among this group.60 HORNED LARKS were low, as were 20 TUFTED TITMICE. A single CAROLINA WREN was exploring an old Fall Webworm 'nest' in our yard.The 2 GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS, 5 E. BLUEBIRDS and a flock of 31 Am. ROBINS took a lot of finding.Careful searching in the Ausable Valley produced 1 SONG , 1 WHITE-THROATED, 1 WHITE CROWNED SPARROWS.Other highlights were 3 PURPLE FINCH, 243 COMMON REDPOLL and a dark GREENLAND sub-species, 3 HOARIES and a lone PINE SISKIN.The single OREGON JUNCO was the second sub-species of this years count.

Real Winter

It looks like we may be in for a real winter. December started on a cold and windy note, and continues that way. Today we we are in a real winter blizzard! So, I am stuck in the house for the day.



We were supposed to do the Rondeau/Blenheim CBC today, but it will not likely happen. I can hardly see the street at times out my window. Maybe the count will be rescheduled in for next Sunday so that we get some kind of a count this year.


Yesterday I worked the Kettle Point CBC in my usual area of Arkona. I always check out Rock Glen CA. It is a neat spot where a stream empties over a 35' falls into the gorge of the Ausable River. Rock Glen is famous for fossils from the Devonian period. The accompanying drawing shows the cross-section of the area.

There are a large number of fossils exposed in the area, but many of them have been picked clean over the decades. I remember going here as a little kid and picking up a handful of fossils. You are still allowed to take home one or two. The photo shows some that I have picked up over the years.

The big part of my CBC walk is in the river valley. It was nice yesterday as there was a cold east wind, and I was protected from it down there. However, there were not a lot of birds around. I think the early cold must have sent many of them south.

The highlight of my bird list yesterday was an adult Golden Eagle. We had one last year in the same area, but it was a very distant view. This year I had great looks at one as it soared over the valley above the trees. This species is becoming increasingly common in early winter.

Other highlights included any waterfowl/waterbirds as everything else was frozen. I saw one Common Merganser on the river, and a Canada Goose. I also heard a Belted Kingfisher. The merganser is not unusal on the river, as is the kingfisher. The goose I almost missed, as I just happened to get a glimpse of its head sticking up along the river bank. It may have been wounded though.

The trail along the river goes on for several kilometres, but I only walk one way for about one hour, then have to head back the same trail. I go to a point where a gully comes to the river, and there is a high lookout spot. (see photo). Once one gets out of the valley, it is basically farmland, so there is nothing much to see.

At this lookout, there is a concentration of Hemlock Trees. This is one of the few spots where this species is found. There are also patches of white cedar, but mostly we get Carolinian-type trees.

Other counters in the area that morning found at least one Hoary Redpoll, a Merlin, Short-eared Owl (good for this count), Long-eared Owl, and a few Gadwall (really good for a "frozen" year!).

I left after lunch, as I had another function to attend to. The weather was closing in anyway.

I have not heard the final results of the count as yet.

Winter Birds at Sarnia

The weather was less than ideal today, but the farther north one went, the better it became. I headed to Sarnia today for a change. Good choice. I came across some decent birds.

First stop was Point Edward. I have not been up there much this fall because we hardly ever had a decent north wind. However, this time of year is good for ducks.

Upon arrival, I immediately spotted a Harlequin Duck close to shore. I had my camera, so I got some decent shots.

There were not a lot of gulls around, but I did pick out a couple of Glaucous. Once winter sets in, more gulls will be around.

After picking up some sunflower seed for the feeders, I went over to Perch Creek CA. It can be good for birds there, and certainly good for butterflies in the summer. I saw two birds fly by, and I knew by their sound that they were Bohemian Waxwings. The only other places I have seen this species is at Pinery/Ipperwash, Algonquin Park (once in late September--record early!), Point Pelee, and Rondeau Park. Never around Sarnia though!

On the way home I stopped at Moore Wildlife Area (I mentioned this place in my butterfly posting a couple of days ago). Along the road I saw a huge flock of Common Redpolls in a field feeding on weed seeds. There could have been up to 200 there!

At the CA parking lot, I did not have to go far to see several birds. There were numerous Chickadees, nuthatches, Tree Sparrows, a couple of Tufted Titmouse, and at least two Yellow-rumped Warblers. These warblers always winter here! There is a heavy crop of Poison Ivy berries in the valley.

Moore is a good birding place in the winter as there are lots of birds, including woodpeckers like the flicker. I think I counted five flickers one day last winter. Today I had Downy, Hairy, and Red-bellied right away.

I will probably have more postings on Sarnia birds throughout the winter.

Winter Birds at Rondeau

Today was a nice day for birding. Not too cold, calm and sunny! I checked out Rondeau Park and area in anticipation of next week's Christmas Bird Count.

Things are quite different than last year. It has been cold and most of Rondeau Bay is frozen.

However, there are some good birds around, and no doubt many decent ones will be found next week.

I started at the park campground. Notables included Hermit Thrush, Yellow-rumped Warbler (3), Brown Creeper, Field Sparrow, pair of Northern Flickers, and Carolina Wrens. A flyover included a Pine Siskin and a couple of Snow Buntings.

Down at south point trail, I found some decent birds along the south beach shoreline. A pair of Purple Finches were feeding in the shrubs along the beach. Shortly following that, I flushed up a Gray Catbird and an American Woodcock. Those two would be welcome birds for the count next Sunday. I managed a few photos of the catbird:

I also found two Fox Sparrows, each in a different spot, and a few White-throated Sparrows.

A couple of immature Bald Eagles were added to the mix.

For next Sunday's count, I will work south point trail. It is always a crap shoot what one will find! But that is what makes these counts interesting.

I have had some good birds over the years, and some of those that nobody recorded. Sometimes Eastern Bluebirds are there, but it looks doubtful this year. I always get a Field Sparrow or two, as they tend to mix with Tree Sparrows.

Summer Reflections: Butterflies

Giant Swallowtail

This December seems to have come in like a lion, so I thought I would talk about butterflies in the summer to warm things up. Birding has been slow this week anyway!

In early to mid summer, I like to look for butterflies. It is as fascinating as birdwatching and is an alternative to getting outdoors when birding can be slow. In fact, in recent years many birdwatchers have turned to looking at butterflies in the summer, and participating in butterfly counts. The counts are just like Christmas Bird Counts, only you are looking at butterflies.

I participate in at least four butterfly counts every summer. The main ones near me are Pinery/Port Franks, Skunk's Misery (Newbury-Bothwell), Rondeau, and Clear Creek (Highgate). In 2006, I worked the Windsor count at Ojibway. That one was the most fascinating ones ever. Our party found 51 of the 52 species recorded for the entire count! We had lots of good finds, including many different hairstreaks. Hickory Hairstreaks were in large numbers that day. The hairstreaks are tiny fast-flying butterflies that are my favourites.

On Ojibway, I spotted a Baltimore Checkerspot (see photo). They feed on Turtlehead.

I always take my camera along, and have managed to get a lot of good shots of butterflies.

Here is an Edwards' Hairstreak at Windsor on Butterfly Weed.

One of my favourite spots not too far from home is Moore Wildlife Management Area. It is about half way between here and Sarnia. There is a variety of habitat there included river valley floodplain with mature forest, open prairie area, and shrubby areas. I have seen at least 40 species of butterflies there.

Hairstreaks can be found from early to mid July. Lots of Coral Hairstreaks seem to be there (see photo of pair). They have all orange spots.

The hairstreaks are all similar, but do have distinct differences for which you must look for. I have found lots of Coral, Striped, Banded, and a few Edwards' and Hickory (see left).

There are lots of Hackberry trees there, so you do find Tawny Emperor (see below). I did finally see a Hackberry Butterfly there last summer.

A Gray Comma was a nice find one day in 2006.
In the woodlands, you do get the browns, such as Eyed, Appalachian, and Northern Pearly-eye.

There are some skippers, but I have not done very well with those. The most common of course, is Northern Broken Dash. I did find a Mulberry Wing once though.

I have lots of photos, but too many to post here. So here are a couple more...

Fiery Skipper at Rondeau (left)

American Copper at Windsor (right)

Erieau Gulls

The weather was not all that great today, so I decided to sleep in, then head down to Erieau. The number of Bonaparte's Gulls there is incredible! They were all over the place--in the marina, boat harbour, channel, in the Bay, and out in the lake. I thought for sure I would find something unusual, but after about three hours of looking, that was not the case. There probably is something unusual or rare around, but with the number of gulls, it may be hard to find.

There may be about 7000 Bonaparte's around Erieau, but I really have no idea. I always tend to underestimate things. I did find one adult Little Gull, eventually. That was easy to pick out with its jet black underwings.

I even spent about half an hour at the end of the pier with the waves crashing in. It was still not close enough for the Bonaparte's that were way out in the lake. The bulk of them were out in the lake I think.

I did have a nice look at a Long-tailed duck while out there.

It is only two weeks away from the Christmas Bird Count, so we will likely have a large number of Bonaparte's again this year.

On the way home, I went up Fargo Road. There are a couple of nice spots along there for birds, and I came across a couple of small flocks of Common Redpolls. There is one spot I always think is good for a Hawk Owl. With the one that was reported at Port Weller yesterday, I had hopes!

All for now...

The Hummer

No, not the vehicle!!

Today I saw another life bird. This time it was a Rufous Hummingbird that is coming to a feeder in Kingsville. Birders affectionately call hummingbirds "hummers" for short.

Less than two weeks ago, a couple in Kingsville were curious about a hummingbird coming to their feeder and contacted Paul Pratt at Ojibway in Windsor. A hummingbird in November is likely something rare, so Paul investigated. He determined that it was either a Rufous or an Allen's Humminbird. These two species are almost identical, so an in-hand view was required. Some licensed banders captured the bird and determined it was a female Rufous. See photo here.

In Ontario, we only have one native hummingbird, the Ruby-throated, and that is usually gone by early October. Rufous Hummingbirds seem to be heartier birds, and show up in late fall in Ontario. They can survive by coming to feeders with nectar ratio about 4:1. Some may perish, but recent belief is that they eventually head south. There was a case when one was banded in Ohio late one December, and it appeared at the same place a year later!

I did not get a photo of this bird, as I was not fast enough with my camera. This photo shows the feeder a minute after the bird disappeared. The bird roosts in the spruce seen at the top.

My first stop of the day was at the Tip of Point Pelee. I met Adam Pinch there. It was a calm day, so not much was seen. At the tram loop, we came across a Chipping Sparrow. While at the Tip, Paul Pratt came along with a small group from Ojibway. On their way home, they also stopped to see the hummingbird.

Later, passing by Hillman Marsh, a Great Egret flew across in front of me and landed in the marsh at the gate to Hillman. An egret at this late date is pretty good. In fact, it is probably the latest one I have seen.

On to Erieau, I looked at thousands of Bonaparte's Gulls. Nothing different. The Franklin's Gull seems to have moved on, and has not been seen since last Sunday. It could still be nearby though, as there are lots of gulls around right now.